Millions of Aussies rely on their smartphones to function

Almost half of all smartphone owners feel they need them to survive.

It's taken a little over 15 years for the smartphone to become a dominant force in our lives and for millions of Australians they're a daily necessity.

In the latest study conducted by Roy Morgan Research, 45% of Australian smartphone owners admitted that they couldn't live without their mobiles.

“As smartphone ownership has rapidly increased, so too has the number of us who feel dependent on a mobile phone. Today there are almost seven million Australians carrying around a smartphone they say they couldn’t live without," says Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan Research.

The research, which analysed data gathered for the 12 months to March 2016, also found that an almost equal number of smartphone owners (44%) need their mobile when travelling overseas, with 41% of them needing to be contactable 24/7.

Aussies who felt they couldn't survive without their smartphone revealed they most needed it to help find a healthy balance between work and personal life (63%), while personal security (59%) was also a justification.

Smartphones were also necessary for more than half (54%) of Aussie owners to help co-ordinate their social lives.

More than a third (36%) of smartphone users say having the device provides them more control over the daily grind.

And when it comes to the dependency of specific user brands, Apple iPhone owners were overwhelmingly reliant upon their devices with half of all users conceding they can't live without them.

As can be seen below, LG (45%), HTC (43%) and Samsung (42%) smartphone customers were also heavily dependent.

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